Adventures in Limbo.
London: Neptune Press, 2006. First Edition, Limited. Softcover. Oblong quarto (12 1/4 x 8 1/2 inches), with a printed dust jacket folded over thick card covers. Edition limited to 150 numbered copies, this being copy No. 17. This copy SIGNED by the editor on the title-page. A beautifully crafted work comprising reproductions of twenty-four pencil sketches from a previously unpublished sketchbook by Austin Osman Spare. The sketches are facsimiles of the originals, one to a page, single-sided, and printed on heavyweight 500 year 'Goatskin parchment paper.' The drawings, with color pencil flourishes, were executed by Spare in 1944 and 1945, whilst he was still recovering from the injury and trauma of being 'bombed out' during the Blitz, a few years earlier. Spare considered the work in the sketchbook, which he titled "Adventures in Limbo," to be amongst the 'best' of his work at the time, and described it modestly as 'a fairly representative sample of my inventive work.' The book sold out within two weeks of publication. *Please note* - the book is far scarcer than its limitation would suggest. Unfortunately the "perfect" binding proved to be anything but that, and it was discovered not long after publication that the if anyone attempted to open the volume wide the binding the glue would crack releasing the pages. A decade-and-a-half after publication the glue is probably even less resilient that it was originally, and surviving copies, like this, will need to be handled with great care if they are to stay intact. This copy almost as new: still protected by the remains of the original publisher's shrink-wrap. The original cover sheet - which has the limitiation details and was included under the publisher's shrinkwrap when the book was sent out - is loosely inserted. The cover sheet has a couple of light creases, the book itself and its dust wrapper are like new: thus in Fine condition. Scarce. Item #71787
Price: $425.00